As the next stage of global climate negotiations opens today in Cancun, Mexico, a chill of northern air seems already to be settling over the participants. And by the way, you can virtually attend this sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the 1992 climate treaty at http://www.unfccc.org. One thing that is not being […]
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I don’t know about anyone else, but I am getting a little tired of hearing nothing but negative news and unbridled criticism about New York, doing business in New York, the economy in New York, etc., etc., etc. With a new Governor comes the opportunity to refocus our attention to value what is great […]
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In today’s Times Union is an account of a federal Department of Energy investigation into an uncontrolled release of radiation during demolition of a Cold War-era research building last month at Knolls Atomic Power Labs in Niskayuna. Here is a copy of the draft report that the story was based upon…
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At the Assembly hearing last Thursday on DEC budget and staff cuts, Acting Commissioner Peter Iwanowicz confirmed that the DEC will be pulling resources from federal Superfund sites. Under questioning, DEC officials said that the DEC would no longer provide “side by side” oversight of the contaminated sites where the EPA is the lead, but […]
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Our guest this week is Ned Sullivan, director of Scenic Hudson, an advocacy group for the Hudson River. Sullivan is a member of the environmental and recreational transition team appointed by Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo. Sullivan will talk about some of the issues, including continued cuts at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, that will confront […]
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The Assembly oversight hearing on the impacts of DEC budget and staffing cuts was still going strong at 5:30 p.m. last night when I got up to leave. After more than 7 hours in the overheated hearing room I couldn’t take it any more. What a tragedy. First we watched Peter Iwanowicz endure more than […]
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A coalition of environmental groups and state agencies have formed to plan strategy to eradicate the invasive Asian clam that turned up in Lake George this summer. Out west, the clam has overrun Lake Tahoe, where officials are warning Lake George advocates that getting rid of the fast-breeding clam has to happen before its numbers […]
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The guest list just got a little more interesting for tomorrow’s hearing by the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee on how budget cuts could affect the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Among those testifying will be former DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis, who was fired last month by Gov. David Paterson after an internal DEC memo on […]
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Nearly sixty breast cancer groups, community organizations, and environmental advocacy groups sent a letter to Governor David Paterson and Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo today expressing concerns about the state’s plan to eliminate the state’s participation in federal Superfund site cleanups in New York. No details have been provided about this proposal since it was announced at […]
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Over the weekend, Cuomo announced membership for his transition team on energy, environment and recreation. Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Carlton A. Brown, C.O.O., Full Spectrum NY Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director, New York League of Conservation Voters Robert B. Catell, Chairman of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at […]
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